William Thornton's Capitol 1793

The site for the United States Capitol chosen by Pierre Charles L'Enfant was Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet (27 m) above the Potomac River.[3] The site is one mile (1.6 km) from the White House. Pierre-Charles L'Enfant secured the lease of quarries at Wigginton Island and along Aquia Creek in Virginia for use in the foundations and outer walls of the Capitol in November 1791.[4]

In 1792, a contest was announced by Commissioners of the Federal City seeking designs for both the Congress House and the President's House.[3] The contest deadline was July 15, 1792, with rewards including $500 and a lot in the city.[5] All the drawings submitted were considered inadequate and rejected.[6] The most promising of the submissions was by Stephen Hallet.[7] However, a late entry by amateur architect William Thornton was submitted on January 31, 1793 to much praise by President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Thornton was inspired by east front of the Louvre, as well as the Pantheon for the center portion of the design.[8] Thornton's design was officially approved in a letter, dated April 5, 1793, from George Washington.[9] In effort to console Hallet, the commissioners appointed him to review Thornton's plans, develop cost estimates, and serve as superintendent of construction. Hallet proceeded to pick apart and make drastic changes to Thornton's design, which he saw as amateur with numerous problems and high costs to build.[10] Jefferson appointed a five-member commission, including Hallet and James Hoban, to address problems with and revise Thornton's plan. Except for some details in Thornton's plan that specified an open recess in the center of the East front, the revised plan was accepted.